Brandywine Peace Community protests possible U.S. military action in Iraq

From left are Robert Smith, coordinator for the Brandywine Peace Community and coordinator for the Peace Center of Delaware County with Sue Gordon, Thompson Bradley and Joan Wider protesting potential U.S. military action in Iraq outside of Rep. Pat Meehan’s office in Springfield on Friday. (Times Staff / JULIA WILKINSON )

Sue Gordon of the Peace Center of Delaware County holds a sign protesting U.S. military action in Iraq outside of Rep. Pat Meehan’s office in Springfield on Friday. (Times Staff / JULIA WILKINSON)

MARPLE — Four members of the Brandywine Peace Community rallied against the United States taking military action in Iraq, where a Sunni insurgency has tossed the country into a state of turmoil.

Longtime activist Robert Smith led the small rally Friday outside the district office of U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, R-7, of Upper Darby. The demonstrators held banners condemning any type of military action against Iraq.

“Our point is no attack on Iraq, no further military action,” said Smith, who is also the coordinator of the Peace Center for Delaware County. “The reason has been simple: Don’t add fuel to the fires.”

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — a breakaway group from al-Qaida — launched a lightning attack last week that seized a large portion of northern Iraq, including Mosul, the nation’s second-largest city. The Iraqi government, led by Shiite prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, has struggled to contain the Sunni militants.

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President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he would send 300 military advisors to Iraq, but said American troops would not return to the country they left in 2011. However, he pledged to use “targeted and precise military action,” if necessary, paving the way for a potential air strike.

“He said 300 special forces advisors would be added ... and saying at the same time that there will be no boots on that ground,” Smith said. “That’s putting boots on the ground. That is. What we’re here saying is, no further military action.”

To Smith, that includes the use of air strikes and drones, which are opposed by the Brandywine Peace Community.

“We need to secure the United States of America, but we don’t do that by making enemies,” Smith said. “We don’t do that with drone strikes that make enemies.”

The demonstrators chose to host their rally outside of Meehan’s office because they wanted to hear the congressman’s stance on military intervention in Iraq. They also voiced concerns about a drone war command center at the Horsham Air Guard Station, which now sits in Meehan’s redrawn district and could be considered a military target.

Friday evening Meehan’s spokesman John Elizandro released a statement that the congressman is concerned about the recent events in Iraq.

“As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, he’s closely monitoring the situation and potential effects it will have on our own national security and interests,” Elizandro wrote in an email to the Daily Times, “particularly now that President Obama has deployed some 300 advisors to the region.”

During an interview Tuesday on Fox 29’s Good Day Philadelphia, Meehans said it is unlikely that the U.S. would ally with Iran to fight the insurgency.

“This is a Sunni-Shiite religious situation,” Meeha said. “We’ve got to keep it from becoming an outright civil war that would create unrest in the entire region. In the end, we worry about Jordan, Israel and the security of other allies that could be affected in the long run.”

Meehan said al-Maliki is partly responsible for the insurgency because he did not enfranchise the minority Sunnis and Kurds when he took office in 2006.

Smith agreed that al-Maliki must be replaced.

“That’s the only, only hope of some rapprochement between Shiite and Sunni,” Smith said. “That’s it. It’s too late.”

The Brandywine Peace Community has used nonviolent protest as a means to promote peace for more than four decades. The group has long opposed the use of nuclear weapons, frequently protesting outside of businesses that manufacture weapons.

Associated Press contributed to this article.

About the Author

John Kopp is a reporter for the Delaware County Daily Times, who covers state and county politics. Follow him on Twitter @DT_JohnKopp Reach the author at jkopp@delcotimes.com
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